Politics - Las Vegas Sun News

How your child's school could change now that the Legislature has adjourned: June 7, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; It makes for good politics when legislators say they're doing everything for the kids, but sometimes they're right. Parents with children in the Clark County School District can expect some major changes as a result of bills the Legislature passed during the past few months.

For clean energy summit, a national focus through state initiatives: June 6, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; Sen. Harry Reid and John Podesta, head of the Center for American Progress, said Thursday the upcoming sixth annual National Energy Summit in Las Vegas would yield innovative ideas to improve the sustainability and resilience of the national energy grid.

Was this state contract decided by email?: June 6, 2013; By Cy Ryan; Allegations surfaced Thursday that secret Internet negotiations took place to continue a firm’s contract that, in part, manages the $611.7 million savings account of more than 11,000 state workers.

Sandoval signs series of health-related bills: June 6, 2013; By Cy Ryan; One bill that will save some cancer patients thousands of dollars and another to require the state to pay extra for kidney dialysis have been signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Reid on reaction to furor over phone records: 'Just calm down': June 6, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; Interest groups, political observers and private citizens spent Thursday up in arms over revelations that the U.S. government has been collecting the phone records of millions of Verizon customers for years. But Sen. Harry Reid wasn’t ruffled by the news. “Right now I think everyone should just calm down and understand that this isn’t brand new,” Reid said. “It’s been going on for some seven years.”

Federal agency investigation: Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital meeting national standards: June 6, 2013; By Cy Ryan; The Rawson-Neal mental hospital in Las Vegas, plagued by criticism, is meeting national standards in the treatment of its patients. The Joint Commission on Accreditation inspected the hospital in May and released its report this week.

House votes to defund deferred action for young undocumented immigrants: June 6, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; Starting Friday, Congress will debate the comprehensive immigration reform bill that lawmakers hope will finally settle questions of status for millions of undocumented immigrants. But not without a parting shot from the House.

Reid challenges GOP to find a way to pay for student loan rate fix: June 6, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; Now that the Senate has rejected both party’s proposals to stave off a hike in student loan rates, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is doubling down on Republicans

Horsford, Heck press for Las Vegas counterterrorism funding in House budget: June 5, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; Nevada’s pro-tourism representatives in D.C. made the case on Wednesday that Las Vegas should continue to receive the most counterterrorism funding possible.

Proposal to relax city's energy code conflicts with state law, Attorney General's Office says: June 5, 2013; By Conor Shine; A proposal to relax the city's building energy codes to make renovating older buildings cheaper for business owners has hit a snag after the Attorney General's Office found the changes conflict with state statute.

Student loan rates the next fight on D.C. lawmakers' agenda: June 5, 2013; By Karoun Demirjian; High school graduations begin this week in Nevada, and seniors will be unleashed to pursue post-secondary plans, which for many, include a turn through college. As graduates collect their diplomas, lawmakers in Washington will be working to try to guarantee them a more affordable chance to continue their education.

Going to miss the Nevada Legislature? You're in luck: Sessions could become annual: June 4, 2013; By Cy Ryan; The 2013 Legislature, which cost $20 million, could not complete its business by the 120-day time limit and were called into special session. But on the final day of the regular session, the lawmakers were able to complete work on a constitutional amendment that permits annual sessions and scraps the prohibition they be paid for only 60 days during the regular meetings.

State housing administrator demoted after prostitution arrest: June 4, 2013; By Cy Ryan; The director of the state Housing Division, caught in a prostitution sting in Reno, will be suffering a $10,000 loss in salary.

Failure to pass More Cops bill forces Legislature into special session: June 4, 2013; By Anjeanette Damon,
Andrew Doughman; In a twist of political irony, Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has vowed to not raise taxes, called a short special session early Tuesday to do just that.

NV Energy bill wins passage, signaling state's shift from coal: June 4, 2013; By Andrew Doughman; Legislators have officially moved Nevada out of the coal business. In a vote Monday night, the Assembly approved a shift away from coal-fired power plants and mandated investment in renewable energy and natural gas.